Japan said Friday it would impose a temporary 50% tariff on frozen beef from the U.S. and several other countries, a move that could inflame trade tensions, although Tokyo officials described it as a required response to a recent surge in imports. The move, the first such step in 14 years involving beef, comes after President Donald Trump named Japan as one of the countries contributing to the U.S. trade deficit. Japanese officials said the tariff increase was mandated under a
framework that took effect following a 1994 global trade deal. The framework was to be scrapped under the Trans-Pacific Partnership, a proposed 12-nation trade deal that included the U.S. and Japan, but Mr. Trump pulled the U.S. out of the TPP before it went into effect. The tariff increase to 50% from the regular 38.5% will take effect in August and hit frozen beef imports from countries that don’t have an economic partnership agreement with Japan, the Ministry of Finance said. READ MORE
